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Evening Standard rating
A zesty, fragrant Indian
Charlotte Ross, Evening Standard 15 Nov 2006
Although the night was miserable and moonless, there was a glimmer of hope in the west as the Democrats took the House of Representatives.
When Donald Rumsfeld resigned, our political appetites were sated and we turned our attention to the more pressing matter of dinner.
In the style of true politicians, it had to be Indian. So we made for the Granita of curry houses - a modern Indian called Emni, at the foot of Islington's Upper Street.
Cocooned behind the smoked glass windows, among the dark-stained wood and deep-red linen, the bustle of Islington's main street seemed suddenly far away.
The cream interior was lit dimly enough to feel intimate, and the sleek crockery and cutlery are a world away from the pink damask and flock wallpaper of an old-fashioned curry house. The ambience was more like a spa's - with gentle music and Zen-like design.
The test of an Indian, modern or old-fashioned, is in its sundries. So we ordered a pile of papadums which came perfectly crisp and light, although the minty chutneys were a little cloying.
We moved on to our three starters next. Malai Scallops was a melting Goan dish stuffed with nuts and simmered in a fragrant coconut milk and curry leaf sauce. Each scallop came in a tiny geometric bowl, and was a rich yet delicate treat.
For my traditionalist partner, it had to be onion bhaji - and to his delight, three big nests of onion arrived, crisp on the outside, moist within, and drizzled with a fruity sauce. He polished them off in seconds.
The menu boasts home-made cheeses, so I picked Paneer Gulnar, which was our only poor choice. The cheese was rather good - like a fresh mozzarella - but the herby stuffing was over dry and couldn't be rescued by the jewels of fresh pomegranate which studded the filling.
Main courses emphasise healthy cooking techniques, interesting combinations of herbs and spice and fresh ingredients. The traditionalist is also vegetarian, and he chose a very good mixed lentil dahl - rich, nutty and creamy with a bracing zing. I had a side dish of okra with raw mango. This was a nice combination of crunchy textures and sweet, sour and savoury flavours.
It also turned out to be a good complement to my spiced monkfish kebabs. These arrived skewered and wrapped in banana leaves, which meant they were exceptionally moist. But they were flavoured too strongly with cardamom, which overwhelmed even the sturdy monkfish meat.
Accompaniments were good. Lemon rice with mustard seed and curry leaves was fluffy and fragrant and a peshawari nan was featherlight and f lavoured subtley with saffron, coconut and almonds. The blueberry raita, though, was a nod too far to fashion and rather like eating breakfast.
Overall, the food was of a high standard, and prepared and served with great care. Our choice of dishes meant some odd combinations, but I'd put that down to greed rather than the kitchen. Service was good - relaxed, informal and intelligent. We even overheard a very modern Indian conversation - about how to let your mother down gently regarding her plans for your arranged marriage.
The verdict? We weren't entirely sure if Gordon Brown would be comfortable here, but were fairly certain John Prescott would not.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Reader views (13)
popped in last saturday as we've been meaning to try for some time. had a mix of fish and meat dishes. i've never had an indian meal like this one. deliciously different probably sums it up. as others have said, this isn't curry house fare and is up there with cinnamon club and bombay brasserie in terms of quality of food, although emni prices are far more reasonable. can't wait to go back, getting cravings....
- Ben Metcalfe, London, UK, 21/10/2009 17:49
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Having read the recent takeway review by Tom Aikens in ES Magazine I thought that I'd give this place a try. I found the service and ambience to be good. The food was definately fresh and the portions were of a good size. I'm a bit surprised to read some bad reviews but am a bit dubious as they mention other indian restaurants in the area, which I have frequented in the past. It would be unfair to name them or express any opinion on the food.
I found this place to be very calm on crazy Upper Street. I will definately be back soon.
- Johnathan Ardley, London, 12/03/2009 11:28
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Avoid like the plague, I went out with two friends on saturday night and we had an atrocious meal, decent poppadoms, good nan, but the rice had obviously been kept warm in the oven and was dry and tasteless, my dish was just dry lumps of gristly chicken in a tomatoe sauce, rendered flavourlesss with chile, not even curry powder! it was supposed to have all these exotic flavours, Coconut milk included but tasted of nothing. My vegetarian friend could notget what she wanted and was told what to order, it was so bad we sent it back.
We told, the grumpy, monosyllabic waiter that we thought the meal was so poor we refused to pay the service which was already included in the bill.
Horribly over-priced for terrible, terrible food. It ruined a good evening.
- Charles Edwards, London, 10/02/2009 10:21
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Ambience was very good and the service was also largely excellent - the waiters were attentive and on the ball and although they made the mistake of forgetting to cook my main course (so it arrived quite a long time after everything else), they were incredibly apologetic, and brought us a complementary kebab while we waited.
The rub was in the food: onion bhaji's: soft and not remotely crunchy - obviously reheated (badly), decorated with red and brown sauce (see below)
Scallops: sauce more like a bad mornay than anything pleasantly spiced
Aubergines (veg side dish): Aubergines not properly cooked - hard and rubbery rather than soft and delicious. Plates decorated with 2 revolting sauces which made everything taste worse, not better - the red one rather like a mixture of tomato ketchup and very hot chilli and the brown one - who knows - tamarind mixed with brown sauce? Yuk
Kebab - without doubt the most awful thing I have had the misfortune to taste ever - texture something like pureed and then dried liver, and the taste and overall sensation quite repellently like poor quality dogfood (I imagine). Do yourself a favour - don't order this - they should pay you to eat it.
Chicken (?pepper chicken) - tasted of, err, pepper and chicken. Nothing else. No hint of any other spicing. Whoever put that on the menu has no clue about what good Indian food should taste like.
Try the excellent Zaffrani on Cross Street - food is fab.
- Catherine Regan, London, 07/10/2007 21:08
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This was pretty far removed from authentic Indian food, but not in a positive way. The food sounded good on the menu, presentation was ok but execution left much to be desired. The chef maybe needs to rediscover his spices!
- Senal Patel, Berkshire, England, 30/01/2007 15:44
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We had a really delicious lunch at Emni. The food tasted fresh and fragrant and the dishes individual, instead of being swamped with the same sauce, as often happens. £6.95 and £7.95 for the Seafood & Vegetable Platter and Meat & Vegetable Platter doesn't strike me as expensive.
- Gillie, Gloucestershire, 23/01/2007 13:46
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I went to Emni just before Christmas. We had a few drinks in their lounge upstairs, and it was full of Barbie dolls and aging guys in black suits. The two owners also work there and a lot of their friends were keeping the place full. The service was dubious, we waited just over 20 minutes for our drinks as the staff were fussing over some B-grade reality show star who was there.
- Ronaldo Dukes, Islington, London, 11/01/2007 14:45
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I Loved it.
I Left the restaurant feeling like I had a good tasty meal in a pleasant environment. I didn't feel bloated and greasy like I have done in so many other indian restaurants.
ok, the restaurant isn't the cheapest indian around, my meal cost me £28, a little steep for an indian, but well worth every penny.
- John Stevens, islington, 05/12/2006 15:44
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Expensive and utterly over-rated.
- P Stevens, Kensington, London, 04/12/2006 11:41
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Emni is definitely subtle chic. The presentation (both food and decor) was brilliant, but the food didn't match up to the promise. Overall it was average, but for the price it should have been anything but.
- Hussain J, Highbury, London, 03/12/2006 14:06
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Really and quite possibly one of the best Indian meals I've ever had. The food was fresh, well flavoured and very appetisingly delivered. The staff are polite, humourous and smart (I believe the owners are former lecturers and a marketing executive!).
My husband and I make a thing of digging out the best that London has to offer and Emni has certainly filled a gap for us. Expect to see us there again, and again...
- Sarah Yates, London UK, 16/11/2006 06:41
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I visited Emni about three or four days after it had opened, and found the food to be of high quality but very, very, very expensive and a tad contrived. The presentation and service are quite commendable, but in an area like Islington, where everyone dines quite frequently there's nothing new or refreshing that they're offering. At £40 per head and £4.50 for a bottle of Hillingdon water I would expect the same amount of creative zest and innovation in the menu as with Vineet Bhatia or the Cinnamon club, sadly this is missing. This week I visited another new Indian restaurant in the area called Rooburoo, it opened a stones throw away in Chapel market. This truly is a find for aficionados of Indian food. It's fun, modest and I've been there three times in ten days, and it's difficult to describe but it seems to be where Indian food is going, and I can't get enough of it. Emni, I'll wait for when my out-of-town-friends want a typical but quality Indian, rooburoo, I'll keep to myself.
- Jonathan Walters, Islington, London., 16/11/2006 00:36
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A refreshing Change to the traditional Indian. Lovely atmosphere with great food and service.
The food is well presented but yet has a classic touch that reminds you of what you like about Indian food, well and truly rediscovered.
- Ammo, Hitchin, UK, 15/11/2006 16:57
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